Review: A Passion for Him by Sylvia Day

Reviewed by Jen

I feel very torn about this book. There were some things I really liked here… others, not so much. Let me get you up to speed:

Amelia is betrothed to her dear friend, the Earl of Wane. She doesn’t love him, but he is ok with that. It would be a marriage based on friendship and respect. Amelia has never gotten over her first love, Colin, who was a Gypsy and family servant in her youth. As teenagers, they had a passionate and amazing bond, despite their difference in class. Sadly, Colin was shot and killed years ago, and part of Amelia’s heart died with him.

Only, Colin didn’t actually die. He went abroad to remake himself… to earn a fortune in order to make a future possible for himself and Amelia. Now that he has achieved that end, he is ready to come back and claim her. Unfortunately, he gets caught up in a murder plot and is now being hunted. That doesn’t stop him from seeking Amelia out at a masked ball.

Of course, Amelia doesn’t know who he is, but she is attracted to him immediately. He takes on a false name and keeps on the mask every time they meet. And in spite of the mystery, or maybe even because of it, the passion between them reaches a fever pitch. But once Amelia learns of his deception, can she forgive him? Or is her sure and steady friend Ware the better choice for her future? All these questions play out, as a dangerous killer continues to track Colin.

So here’s what was really good. Sylvia Day does a fantastic job carving out these characters and investing me in their emotions. I felt the raw heartbreak from Amelia, the insecurity and longing from Colin. And the passion… wow. The sex is fantastic and very, very satisfying. (The line about the “slick, humid paradise of her glistening sex” aside.) But… perhaps Day did too good of a job with making me empathize with Amelia. Because, frankly, I had a very hard time forgiving Colin, and it bothered me how easily he got what he wanted. I wanted them together, but at the same time, I didn’t feel like he deserved her after he abandoned her. He gets off too easy. Not to mention the scores of women he boned while he was allegedly pining for his lost love. This, while Amelia stayed a virgin, even though she thought he was dead. Fail, fail, fail.

Would I call it a pretty good book? Yes. But it also frustrated me, made me angry, and hurt my heart a little bit. I like to feel a little bit happier about my happy endings.